Posts [ 19 ]

Topic: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

CCP has released an article in the E-ON magazine detailing how they are currently beginning work on creating a system where EVE's pod-pilots will finally be able to leave their capsules and walk around the stations they dock in using human avatars. As the bare-bones framework of this they are attempting to build a system with "Hyper-Realistic" human avatars, with a wide variety of expressions and gestures. People have been talking about adding this to EVE ever since the game first came out, but the company has now confirmed that it has staff working on it.

The project is obviously low-priority compared to other things in development, as well as being somewhat ambitious, so they estimate 12-18 months at minimum, making late 2008 the soonest it will arrive. But I'm sure anyone who has ever played EVE will be welcoming the prospect of this new addition, which from the RP point of view was all that was missing from EVE to make it the perfect RP setting IMO.

The head of the "Ambulation" prject has said in an interview that this feature will:-

...provide depth for the casual player and a playground for those who take roleplaying seriously. I come from a classic pen-and-paper role-playing background and feel that it's imperative that you have the option to perform actions and events that perhaps have no pragmatic economic value but enable people to emotion, power, tradition and history in the language of the EVE universe.

and has also given a few other comments like:-

We're quite authoritarian when it come to allowing EVE players to customise their characters to absurdity. There are virtual worlds out there that allow you to fit rubber ducks to your head and have hairy, bearded men in wedding gowns, but that does not fit at all with the backstory and setting of EVE and would do more damage than good in my humble opinion.

The general outline seems to be that they are going to set up an environment where human avatars can interact extensively and no combat is permitted and there is nothing of benefit to non-RPers to induce them to enter. If this project ever makes a full appearance in the EVE game, I know I'm going back to it and I also know I won't be alone. Just that pesky wait of probably two years now...

Re: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

The only thing that will make me dust off eve is a re-vamped method for training skills. paying for a month of Eve and never once going onto the game just so my skill could train ruined the game for me.

Re: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

No, skills don't really matter at all. And EVE has the same skill system that Seed had, so it'll be much more RP-friendly. No having to choose between level grinding and RP like with most games. I always thought if it had more scope for RP then EVE would have been perfect.

Re: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

They're apparently going all-out on the human character system for a hyper-realistic environment. Seems a bit odd for an add-on to an already popular game, but- CCP is now merged with White Wolf, and has confirmed that it will be realeasing a World of Darkness MMORPG at some point in the future.

Perhaps the Ambulation project for EVE is just a way of testing out their ideas for a traditional human-perspective online game before they begin full development of WoD online?

They had announced that they intended to expand the EVE setting beyond just spacecraft, and the first step towards that would be atmospheric flight and planetside action. Then, they suddenly put that on the back burner and announce that Ambulation is the way forward, right after they announce the merger with White Wolf and the deal to make WoD online. It's the only explanation for this which makes any sense to me, though perhaps someone who knows more about game development will tell me all the ways I'm wrong.

Re: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

The Devs have said on the EVE forums that it's actual footage of the early-model engine itself (we saw all the rooms and avatars they had set yup to date). Age of Conan might have some competition for my time after all once this expansion comes out...

Re: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!

They would have to be immensely stupid to make it DX10 exclusive. Only a fragment of the gamer community has migrated to Vista, and as far as I've seen, MS have no intent to release DX10 for XP. Why alienate most of the gamers?